Home › Glossary › Letter F

floe

Flora
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A floe is a sheet of floating ice, typically found in polar regions.

Detailed Definition
In maritime contexts, 'floe' refers to a large expanse of floating ice, which can be broken into smaller pieces. This term is often used in literature to evoke the stark beauty and harshness of polar environments. In the poem, 'emerald floe' contributes to the imagery of the speaker's dreamlike escape into a world dominated by ice and water, enhancing the contrast with the urban setting he longs to escape.
Example
Example in poetry:
"O'er sapphire berg and emerald floe" (floating sheet of ice); "The floe drifted south with the current" (Arctic); "Floe upon floe in the frozen sea" (landscape); "The polar bear on the shifting floe" (wildlife); "A floe of crystal in the moonlight" (visual)
Additional Notes
The word 'floe' is used in conjunction with 'berg' to describe the icy landscape that captivates the speaker's imagination.; Found in the poem, The Ice Cart by Wilfrid Wilson Gibson
Also Known As
floating ice sheet polar slab frozen drift arctic platform
Skip to main content